


i think i've seen this film before (and i didn't like the ending)

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Pre-Episode: s10e05 Oxygen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25778185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.Or, the Doctor meets Oswin Ravenwood and falls in love all over again.
Relationships: Twelfth Doctor/Clara Oswin Oswald
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	i think i've seen this film before (and i didn't like the ending)

Let’s be clear here: Clara Oswald did not  _ purposefully _ attempt to seek out the Doctor. In fact, the Doctor wasn’t even  _ close _ to being on her mind when she eased her fingers into the telepathic interface of her TARDIS. After a few centuries of travelling, her companion Ashildr eventually chose to settle down on a distant planet. Clara decided that she was in need to distract herself from her friend’s departure, and if there’s anything the Doctor taught her, it’s that the best distractions are with an adventure. An exciting, adrenaline-rushing adventure. You know. Besides that, technically speaking, Clara didn’t have adrenaline.

Clara spun around the console and closed her eyes, a single word appearing in the web of her consciousness:  _ danger _ . She bit her lower lip, clutching down into the soft interior of the telepathic interface, trying her best to continue focusing on that single word. The center machinery of the console began to whirl in a circle as the wheezing noise began to consume the room.  _ Success _ . Clara smiled at the alluring sound. After all the years of travelling in her own TARDIS, a feeling of home swept over her each and every time upon hearing that delightful sound.

But then her mind betrayed her, a new thought filling her head.

For the first time in hundreds of years, Clara Oswald was  _ on her own _ . In her childhood, Clara was her mother’s girl. Her bond with her mother was so very different from her father, and after she died, it left a hole in Clara’s heart that still hasn

For the first time in hundreds of years, Clara Oswald was  _ alone _ .

The sound faded to a stop, and Clara opened her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Her drifting thoughts couldn’t have changed the TARDIS’ course of action too drastically…could it?

“Alright, where are we?” Clara questioned her TARDIS, turning her face up towards the monitor. Light bulbs on the console flickered in an array of colors, and the TARDIS let out a small  _ bleep _ . The monitor flashed a few photos, showing a university. “Six missing students? That might be something to look into…but 2017 London, are you sure that’s safe? Considering that I died two years earlier?”

The TARDIS beeped again.

Clara nodded, considering the sentient machine’s advice. “Yeah, you’re right. Forging a new identity should do the trick.” She circled around the console, taking a moment to think her plan through. A smile rose on her face as she asked the TARDIS, “Do you think you could get me lottery money?”

  
  
  
  


In the many years of her existence, Clara Oswald never thought she would miss teaching as much as she did now. Returning back to a job similar to the one she left off with certainly helped fill in a hole of her non-beating heart. At least  _ one _ of the holes.

It had been three weeks since Clara settled in with her new persona, Oswin Ravenwood, the fill-in English professor at St. Luke’s University after the former professor resigned after strangely winning the lottery out of nowhere. In three weeks, only one new student disappeared, a twenty-two year old blonde girl. With some digging, Clara found that she was last seen in the lady’s room, but other then that, it was a dead end. 

Even then, Clara still chose to stick around, hoping for another lead. Perhaps Clara wanted to stay, teaching these students and living her life, but deep down she knew it wouldn’t work out. At some point Clara would get into an accident of sorts and walk out without a single injury, or maybe she would stay for years upon years and someone would finally notice her lack of aging. Either way, the danger of people finding out about her immortality is too much of a risk to stay for long.

But just a few months wouldn’t hurt.

_ …Right? _

Although Clara had settled her career in London for the time being, she chose to stay in her TARDIS instead of an apartment. Why would she get an apartment, anyway? The diner exterior’s facade seemed to work and helped form some characterization on Oswin Ravenwood’s story. When Oswin wasn’t lecturing students or grading papers, she would be running a diner for some extra cash. 

But now, it was four in the morning. The diner wasn’t open, and since she never sleeps, Clara logged in to her newly-bought macbook to check her work email. Even though she had her TARDIS monitors and futuristic tech, twenty-first century technology gave her a sense of familiarity and remembrance of her career. To help, the TARDIS deleted her old bedroom and recreated the one she had on Earth when she was still alive. So here she was, in her pajamas, curled up on her bed on her macbook. 

There were over forty new emails from student email addresses, all describing how they had to miss her lecture later that afternoon. Most were detailing doctor’s appointments or terminally sick family members in hospitals. Clara narrowed her eyes at the screen, checking the date on the calendar before a thought triggered in her head. It was Wednesday. The last Wednesday, and even the Wednesday before that, she had gotten similar emails and absences in her classes.

Clara read through each and every one, finally clicking on the last. It started similarly to the rest, but the  _ reasoning _ was different. It described having a lecture with a “Professor Smith” during one of her lectures, and how even though the student didn’t want to choose between classes, it was hardly even a choice. According to the student, each of Professor Smith’s lectures were different yet always magnificent, the subjects varying from poetry to quantum physics to philosophy. The email even ended with the student suggesting to listen in on one of his lectures sometime.

Clara would be lying if she said there wasn’t a sense of familiarity to it. There was one person in her life who could ever talk for hours and hours about poetry, quantum physics,  _ and _ philosophy. Still, she buried the thought of even the  _ thought _ of seeing her friend again. She knew that the more she thought about him, the more she would ache for the chance to reunite with him again.

With the memory of  _ him _ being shoved to the side, Clara smirked to herself. “Well then.” She raised an eyebrow, closed her macbook, and hopped out of her bed to head out the door. “I guess I’m going to have to see who this Professor Smith is myself.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are all appreciated :)
> 
> This fic is inspired by "Exile" by Taylor Swift, go stream it! The lyrics give off big twelveclara vibes.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The Doctor will make his first appearance in the next chapter :)


End file.
